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Not sure where to put this one. The nuclear submarine fleets of the UK and France have cropped up in numerous threads.
But none have taken a factual look at how the two countries developed very different submarines despite being superficially similar in location.
Britain was first out of the gate with Dreadnought and soon after Valiant. These were large SSNs with global reach but only old fashioned torpedoes.
France had a prototype submarine (Gymnote) which it then used as a test boat for its own SLBM programme.
The UK gets the deal of the decade in 1962 at Nassau and by 1970 has submarines in service with Polaris A3.
France is also able to commission its first SSBN class (Redoubtable). Understandably the French missiles initially do not have the range of Polaris and the first four boats take longer to enter service.
With Polaris in service the UK moves through C class to S class boats in the 70s.
France continues to bring SSBNs into service while its SSN programme uses a smaller submarine (Rubis) to defend its boomers coming and going (French for boomer SSBNs anyone- La Boum?).
Anyway I hope we can get some interesting stories, but especially from France.
But none have taken a factual look at how the two countries developed very different submarines despite being superficially similar in location.
Britain was first out of the gate with Dreadnought and soon after Valiant. These were large SSNs with global reach but only old fashioned torpedoes.
France had a prototype submarine (Gymnote) which it then used as a test boat for its own SLBM programme.
The UK gets the deal of the decade in 1962 at Nassau and by 1970 has submarines in service with Polaris A3.
France is also able to commission its first SSBN class (Redoubtable). Understandably the French missiles initially do not have the range of Polaris and the first four boats take longer to enter service.
With Polaris in service the UK moves through C class to S class boats in the 70s.
France continues to bring SSBNs into service while its SSN programme uses a smaller submarine (Rubis) to defend its boomers coming and going (French for boomer SSBNs anyone- La Boum?).
Anyway I hope we can get some interesting stories, but especially from France.
